The present invention relates to a connector and, in more particular, to a connector structured such that a connecting terminal stored in a terminal accommodating chamber is double locked to thereby prevent the connecting terminal from falling off from a housing.
Conventionally, there is known a connector of a type that a connecting terminal stored in a terminal accommodating chamber is double locked to thereby prevent the connecting terminal from falling off from a housing (For example, see JP-A-5-144499 (Pages 3 to 4, FIG. 3)). FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the main portions of a conventional connector disclosed in JP-A-5-144499, and FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional perspective view of the main portions of a connector housing and a locking member used in the connector shown in FIG. 11.
As shown in FIG. 11, according to the conventional connector including a double locking mechanism, in a connector housing 2, there are formed a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 2b and, lances are disposed in the terminal accommodating chambers 2b, respectively. These lances are engaged with the shoulder portion 4a of the connecting terminal 4 to thereby prevent the connecting terminal 4 from slipping out of the connector housing 2 after inserted.
In the middle portion of one outer peripheral wall 2a of the connector housing 2, there is formed a cavity portion 2c which crosses the terminal accommodating chambers 2b formed in the interior of the connector housing 2. A locking member (that is, a so called spacer) 3 is inserted from the cavity portion 2c into the connector housing 2, and terminal locking portions 3a formed in the locking member 3 are engaged with the locking hole 4b of the connecting terminal 4. Therefore, the connecting terminal 4 can be double locked by the lance and the terminal locking portion 3a of the locking member 3 in the interior of the connector housing 2.
In the locking member 3, there are formed a plurality of openings 3e in correspondence to the terminal accommodating chambers 2b. That is, the partition walls 2e of the terminal accommodating chambers 2b and the partition walls 3f of the openings 3e are formed so as to correspond to each other; and, when the locking member 3 is inserted into the cavity portion 2c, the partitions 2e and 3f are arranged continuously with each other in their connecting portions with no clearance between them.
As shown in FIG. 12, in order to realize a reduction in the size of the connector, two outer-most walls 2d respectively disposed on the two ends of the respective terminal accommodating chambers 2b are cut in the cavity portion 2c and its neighboring portions. In case where the locking member 3 is inserted into the cavity portion 2c, the inner surfaces of the outer walls 3b of the locking member 3 are respectively arranged so as to be substantially flush with the inner surfaces of the outer-most walls 2d of the terminal accommodating chambers 2b and, in the cavity portion 2c, the outer walls 3b of the locking member 3 operate just like the outer-most walls 2d of the terminal accommodating chambers 2d to thereby guide and hold the connecting terminal 4.
In the above-mentioned conventional connector 1, when inserting the connecting terminal 4 into the terminal accommodating chamber 2b from behind the connector housing 2, in some cases, the connecting terminal 4 can be inserted in such a manner that it is inclined with respect to the axis of the terminal accommodating chamber 2b. Normally, the connecting terminal 4 is guided sequentially by the partition walls 2e of the terminal accommodating chamber 2b and the partition wall 3f of the locking member 3, which are arranged continuously with each other with no clearance between them, and thus the connecting terminal 4 can be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 2b smoothly.
In the outer wall 3b of the locking member 3 which constitutes a portion of the outer wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 2 on the outer-most side, there is formed a locking portion 3c which can be engaged with the connector housing 2. Generally, in the locking portion 3c, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 12, in most cases, there is formed an inverted-U-shaped groove 3d in order to apply elasticity to the locking portion 3c; however, the continuity of the wall surface is lost due to the inverted-U-shaped groove 3d (that is, the present wall surface is turned into an uneven surface). Therefore, in case where the connecting terminal 4 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 2b in such a manner that the leading end of the connecting terminal 4 is inclined to the outside, there is a possibility that the leading end of the connecting terminal 4 can interfere with the corner portion of the inverted-U-shaped groove 3d, thereby preventing the smooth insertion of the connecting terminal 4. When the interference between the locking member 3 and connecting terminal 4 is strong, the interfering portion in the leading end of the connecting terminal 4 is shaved to thereby produce shavings there, and the-thus-produced shavings can result in the poor conduction of the connector 1. Also, when the insertion resistance of the connecting terminal 4 increases extremely, an automatic terminal inserting apparatus (not shown) can be caused to stop, which provides a factor in impairing the productivity of the connector.